He was honest inside and out, a man of his word, who was totally devoted to god and hated evil with a passion. But this story is about more than just mass destruction. Some believe the book of job gives a resounding yes. Though we cannot be certain, job may have lived during the time of jacob or shortly thereafter. Job s final speech in his own defense is probably where the book originally ended. Up in the heavens, god brags to the divine assembly about job. This is due to the fact that while the book itself is an inspired message, the philosophical conclusions of the four men involved with job are not inspired andor revealed conclusions. A major difficulty in understanding the meaning of the book is, what insight leads job to submit so humbly to god at the end.
Most of proverbs could be read in one or two verse segments and the full meaning would be clear. To understand the full impact of the book of job the book must be read and understood as a whole. The most likely candidates are job, elihu, moses and solomon. Introduction to the book of job society of gilbert keith. The evil things in his life came from satan the devil, who thought that job only believed because he had a good. The book of job begins with a prologue job 12, which describes a wager between satan and god, in which satan the adversary bets god that job a particularly pious manwill abandon his piety and curse god if all his wealth and wellbeing are taken away. In the course of one day, job receives four messages, each bearing separate. We err when we read the first two chapters and conclude that the only message in the book is that job suffered to disprove satans accusation that the only reason. The book of job, book of hebrew scripture that is often counted among the masterpieces of world literature. It offers, he believes, the strong comfort which comes from knowing that someone else has been there before. From internal evidence it is speculated that he was an israelite who wrote between 600 and 400 b. You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
It is a dramatic poem and is probably the oldest book of the bible, and was certainly written before the giving of the law. Where did the biblical story of creation come from. If moses was the author, the date would be around 1440 b. Watch our overview video on the book of job, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Which poetic book focuses on why bad things happen to good peopl. Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side.
His compelling exposition shows the power of the book of job to reach into our human situation and to engage with our human needs. The book of job is one of the most celebrated pieces of biblical literature, not only because it explores some of the most profound questions humans ask about their lives, but also because it is extremely well written. Lo and behold, satan comes out and challenges god on job s goodness. No theological student, on being asked, what is the book of j about. Job is different from proverbs in another important way. The central question of theodicy is to explain how an allknowing.
Led by suffering to the heart of god the message peterson, eugene h. The message of job is both a comfort to us in our own suffering and a model for our ministry to others in. This not only seems to involve god in the performance of evil. The book of job is quite possibly the strangest book in the hebrew bible, and is notoriously difficult to date. Job admitted that he knew about god, but he didnt know god for himself. With bible gateway plus, you gain instant access to a digital bible study library, including complete notes from the niv cultural backgrounds study bible and the new bible commentary. Dont get us wrong, the mourning rituals we get after job. In essence, job is an essay on the problem of evil. If job wrote the book, then he knew about the events that. You might have heard someone say, they have the patience of job. The author of the book is the prophet jonah who wrote his own autobiography.
Habel has contributed a small but helpful study for preaching the whole book of job. This is the message of the book of job that we must communicate effectively in the twentyfirst century. In the message translation, it says that job named his 3 daughters dove, cinnamon and darkeyes. The second school of thought views the main message of the bible from a much different perspective. We are not to assume god has rejected all those that suffer. In this very enlightening study through the book of job, there are 10. The fact of suffering in the world challenges us with its questions. The book of job tells of god sending satan to do harm to job, to test just how righteous job really is. The real message of job is not job s suffering because god would never end the story with suffering. The book of job opens in verse one by telling us that job was a. The doubt surrounding the date of the book should not obscure its message, which is certainly applicable to any age. It is found in the third section of the biblical canon known as the ketuvim writings. Given how christians are yet inclined to look for a divine reason behind catastrophes and personal tragedies. Hes blameless and upright, and he has kids, a wife, land, and a bunch of sheep.
It is an unusual book and most difficult, to say the least. He went through the rituals, but when he was tested he found. The characters in the book of job consist of job, his wife, his three friends bildad, eliphaz, and zophar, a man named elihu, god, and angels one of whom is named satan. Hartley identifies six themes that are part of the message of job pp. The message of job bible speaks today atkinson, david j. I love reading the book of job i feel a connection, i lost my son to a. For us, too, the message is that trust in god is ultimately rewarded, now on earth or later in heaven. What, then, is the real message in the book of job. Every book on your english syllabus summed up in a quote from the office. It is possible that job is the oldest of any book of the bible written approximately 21001800 b. Instead, god ended the book on a much more positive note.
The date of the authorship of the book of job would be determined by the author of the book of job. Youll get this book and many others when you join bible gateway plus. The book of job does not specifically name its author. Guidelines for understanding and proclaiming the book of job. On the other hand, there was a notable flowering of wisdom literature during the reign of solomon, and the book of job may well have been part of those achievements, especially if its events may be dated later in a foreign locale.
For they will learn, as job did before them, and as gods people throughout history have learned, that the path from untested belief about god to genuine commitment to god passes through painful experience. Not much is known about job based on the masoretic text of the jewish bible. The book of job is one of the most problematic portions of the bible and has called forth a variety of interpretations. That bigger message goes far beyond the mancentered focus of salvation to embrace the purpose of all time and space. To conclude that someone else wrote the book is difficult since the information about job s experience in the fishs stomach and in chapter 4 requires firsthand knowledge. Beverage bread breakfast crock pot dessert holidays main. With its story of one mans life and suffering, the book of job raises universal questions. The work combines two literary forms, framing forty chapters of verse between two and a half chapters of prose at the beginning. Dont get us wrong, the mourning rituals we get after job s entire. Part of the greatness of the book of job is its ability to raise several questions about life and relationship with god at the same time. The chief purpose of the book of job through careful analysis and thought poses the main purpose of the book of job. What is the message of the book of job from the bible. In any case, at the heart of the message of the book of job is the wisdom with respect to answering the question as to how god is involved in the problem of human suffering. What is the final message of the book of job about.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. These readers agree that salvation is certainly very important, but it is only part of a much greater message. Copeland this study guide is from the executable outlines series, a collection of sermon outlines and bible study lessons by mark a. Key personalities of this book include job, eliphaz the temanite, bildad the shuhite, zophar the naamathite, and elihu the buzite. Derek thomas this twelve message series, the book of job, is now available.
I must trust, fall down and trust a sovereign god with my life. Addressing the problem of theodicy the vindication of the justice of god in the light of humanitys suffering it is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives. The book of job is among the other old testament books both a philosophical riddle and a historical riddle. Paul tanner, the message of the song of songs,bibliotheca sacra 154. The point of the book of job is to teach us that the mystery of evil is a mystery of a wartorn and unfathomably complex creation, not the mystery of gods allcontrolling will. The book of job is a profound philosophic discussion of human suffering, with job and several of his friends taking turns offering possible solutions to the problem of good and evil.
Its author is unknown yet it is possible that job himself wrote it. The name job is the english translation of the hebrew name iyov which means persecuted, hated on the surface job is a long, boring, somewhat confusing book and one might question how it ever came to be grouped with the wisdom books as it is hard to ascertain any wisdom in this tale of woe. J ust about everyone has heard of the suffering of job in the old testament. Communicating the book of job in the twentyfirst century. In every generation protests arise saying that if god is good, then there should be no pain, no suffering or death in this world. Key verses and themes in job bible commentary theology. The structure and message of the book of job jstor. It is the philosophical riddle that concerns us in such an introduction as this. This summary of the book of job provides information about the title, authors, date of. Alfred smith has contributed prac tical insights for lessons and sermons on the book of job. Book of job overview insight for living ministries.